From historic performances in Las Vegas to wasted minutes in Los Angeles, here is everything you need to know about South Carolina’s finest in the WNBA this week
South Carolina’s pipeline to the WNBA has never been deeper or more productive. But as this week’s roundup makes abundantly clear, not every Gamecock alumna is getting the opportunity she deserves. Here is a full breakdown of every former Gamecock currently on a WNBA roster — the good, the great, and the deeply frustrating.
Atlanta Dream (7-3) — The Allisha Gray Show Rolls On
Allisha Gray
10 games (10 starts) | 33.2 mpg | 19.7 ppg | 3.8 rpg | 1.8 apg | 1.1 spg
Gray’s All-Star case gets stronger with every passing week. Her signature performance of the stretch came against Connecticut — 26 points in 36 minutes in a 91-75 Dream victory that was never really in doubt once Gray got going. She followed that with a quieter 13-point effort in Atlanta’s loss at Indiana, the kind of off night that happens to every player over an 82-game season, before bouncing back with 15 points against Washington in a dominant 109-77 blowout win.
At 19.7 points per game through 10 games, Gray is firmly entrenched as one of the most productive guards in the league. She is logging 33.2 minutes per night — the mark of a player her coaching staff cannot afford to take off the floor — and she is delivering at a level that should have her name in every All-Star conversation from here forward.
Madina Okot
10 games | 9.8 mpg | 5.1 ppg | 3.8 rpg
The former Gamecock is getting limited run behind a veteran Dream rotation, but she is making the most of her opportunities. Her best game of the stretch came against Washington, when she logged 18 minutes — nearly double her season average — and delivered 11 points and 5 rebounds. That kind of production in expanded minutes is exactly the kind of audition that earns players longer looks.
Atlanta doesn’t play its reserves heavily as a matter of organizational philosophy. But when Okot has gotten on the floor, she has shown she belongs. The consistency isn’t quite there yet, but the talent clearly is.
Te-Hina Paopao
10 games (1 start) | 15.9 mpg | 5.3 ppg | 1.7 rpg | 1.7 apg | 41.4 3P%
Paopao continues to shoot the ball efficiently from deep — 41.4% from three is legitimately elite — and her playmaking in limited minutes gives Atlanta a capable secondary ball-handler off the bench. Her best outing of the stretch was a 6-point, 3-assist performance against Washington, where she also added a block that showed her defensive awareness continues to develop. At nearly 16 minutes per game, she is carving out a real rotation role with a 7-3 team. That is meaningful.
Atlanta’s schedule this week: Tuesday at Chicago (7:00 ET, ESPN) · Thursday vs New York (7:30 ET, League Pass) · Sunday at Toronto (3:00 ET, League Pass)
Chicago Sky (4-7) — Cardoso Joins the Record Books
Kamilla Cardoso
11 games (11 starts) | 26.8 mpg | 12.2 ppg | 9.6 rpg | 2.4 apg | 1.7 bpg
In a Chicago season that has largely gone sideways, Kamilla Cardoso has been the one consistent bright spot — and last week she put together a performance that put her name next to one of the greatest players in league history.
Against Washington, Cardoso logged 33 minutes and produced 12 points, 13 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists, and a steal — a stat line of breathtaking completeness. That performance made her the second youngest player in WNBA history to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a single game, behind only the legendary Candace Parker. Let that sink in. Candace Parker. That is the company Cardoso’s name now sits in, and she earned it on merit.
She followed that effort with solid back-to-back performances against Connecticut and Toronto — 10 points and 8 rebounds, then 9 points and 8 rebounds — demonstrating the consistency that separates rising stars from occasional performers. She is currently fifth in the WNBA in rebounding, and her 1.7 blocks per game make her one of the most impactful defensive centers in the league.
The Sky’s record does not reflect what Cardoso is doing individually. She is playing at a franchise-cornerstone level. Chicago needs to build around her accordingly.
Chicago’s schedule this week: Tuesday vs Atlanta (7:00 ET, ESPN) · Thursday at Indiana (7:00 ET, Amazon Prime)
Golden State Valkyries (6-5) — Amihere Falls Out of Rotation
Laeticia Amihere
9 games | 12.9 mpg | 4.4 ppg | 4.0 rpg | 1.6 apg | 0.9 bpg
The roster reality at Golden State has caught up with Amihere. The returns of Cecilia Zandalasini and Juste Jocyte have pushed her out of the regular rotation entirely — she logged just one minute against Portland before back-to-back DNPs at Minnesota and Las Vegas. This is the challenge of playing on a deep roster with experienced veterans returning from absence. Amihere’s overall numbers remain respectable, but she will need to find her way back into the rotation before the season slips away from her.
Golden State’s schedule this week: Tuesday vs Phoenix (10:00 ET, League Pass) · Friday at Seattle (10:00 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Indiana Fever (5-5) — Boston Battles Through, Johnson Settles In
Aliyah Boston
9 games (9 starts) | 25.3 mpg | 15.9 ppg | 7.6 rpg | 2.3 apg | 1.1 bpg | 1.0 spg
Boston is dealing with a leg injury that would sideline lesser competitors, but she remains Indiana’s most important player — and her performances over the last two games prove it. Against Atlanta, she put up 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 31 minutes of a Fever victory. Against New York, she followed with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 more blocks in a tough road loss. The blocks number — 3 in back-to-back games — signals that Boston’s defensive impact remains elite even when her body isn’t at full strength.
Indiana blew a second-half lead in New York, which underscores how much the Fever still depend on Boston being at her best to close out games. When she is limited, Indiana’s margin for error shrinks considerably.
Raven Johnson
10 games | 14.7 mpg | 5.0 ppg | 2.2 rpg | 1.7 apg
Johnson continues to settle into her professional role with genuine composure. Five points, 3 assists, and 2 steals against Atlanta was a two-way performance that reflected her defensive value. Six points and 4 assists against New York showed her growing comfort as a playmaker in crunch situations. At just under 15 minutes per game, she is earning trust from the Indiana coaching staff — and she is outperforming the veterans around her in the process.
Tyasha Harris & Bree Hall
Harris has seen her playing time evaporate as Johnson has stepped into the rotation and handled the opportunity well. Hall, listed as a developmental player, has yet to be active for a single game this season — a situation worth monitoring as the season progresses.
Indiana’s schedule this week: Monday at Washington (7:00 ET, Peacock/NBCSN) · Thursday vs Chicago (7:00 ET, Amazon Prime) · Saturday at Connecticut (6:00 ET, Peacock/NBCSN)
Las Vegas Aces (7-3) — A’ja Wilson Is Simply Rewriting History
A’ja Wilson
10 games (10 starts) | 31.3 mpg | 25.1 ppg | 9.4 rpg | 2.7 apg | 2.3 bpg | 1.1 spg | 54.5 3P%
Every week, the conversation about A’ja Wilson’s place in basketball history gets more serious. Last week was no exception.
Against Los Angeles, Wilson produced 25 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 steals in 34 minutes of a 79-69 Aces victory. Against Golden State, she followed with 28 points and 14 rebounds in another Las Vegas win. Those two performances pushed her career total to 94 and 95 career 20-point double-doubles — second all-time in WNBA history, trailing only Tina Charles’ record of 110. She also now has 29 career double-doubles of at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, again second only to Charles.
The record that might be most telling of Wilson’s all-around dominance: she has now recorded her third career game with at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks — passing Sylvia Fowles for the all-time record in that category. Fowles is a WNBA legend and a Hall of Famer. Wilson now owns her record outright.
She also moved into eighth place on the WNBA’s all-time blocks list with 556 career blocks, needing just one more to tie seventh place. After what was described as a slightly slow start to the season, Wilson is now operating, as noted, “in fourth gear” — leading the league in blocks, sitting second in scoring at 25.1 points per game, third in three-point percentage at a remarkable 54.5%, and seventh in rebounding.
The only honest question left about A’ja Wilson is not where she ranks among active players. It is where she ultimately ranks among the greatest to ever play the game.
Las Vegas schedule this week: Monday vs Seattle (10:00 ET, USA) · Thursday at Portland (10:00 ET, League Pass) · Saturday vs Minnesota (8:00 ET, CBS)
Los Angeles Sparks (5-6) — The Development Failure Continues
Sania Feagin
1 game | 3.0 mpg | No stats
Feagin returned to the active roster after missing time with a leg injury — and then did not play in three consecutive games. One appearance, three minutes, no stats. That is the entire story of her 2026 WNBA season to this point, and it is a story that reflects far more poorly on the Sparks organization than it does on Feagin herself.
The broader context cannot be ignored. Feagin is exactly the kind of physical, versatile big that the Sparks — and frankly most teams in the league — need developed and available. The organization has a player of genuine potential sitting on their bench collecting DNPs while that developmental window narrows game by game. As previously noted in this space, the Sarah Ashley situation in Portland — where a player who left Los Angeles’s system is now thriving with real minutes under a competent development staff — is the cautionary tale the Sparks are actively refusing to learn from.
Ta’Niya Latson
6 games | 4.1 mpg | 1.7 ppg | 0.5 rpg
Six appearances. 4.1 minutes per game. The brief glimpse Latson provided against Las Vegas — 6 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist when the Sparks were shorthanded — was the most playing time she has seen in weeks. Then came back-to-back DNPs against Dallas and Portland.
There is no justification for a player of Latson’s profile — her scoring ability, her athleticism, her competitive fire — averaging 4.1 minutes per game. The WNBA season is too short and too precious for this level of developmental negligence. Every game Latson spends inactive is a game of professional experience she can never recover.
The Sparks are 5-6. They are not in a position to be prioritizing veteran comfort over the development of two young players who could define the franchise’s future. Something needs to change — either the rotation philosophy, the coaching approach, or for the sake of both players’ careers, the uniform they wear.
Los Angeles schedule this week: Wednesday at Seattle (10:00 ET, USA) · Saturday at Phoenix (10:00 ET, League Pass)
Seattle Storm (3-9) — Cooke’s Productive Season Continues
Zia Cooke
12 games | 16.9 mpg | 8.9 ppg | 2.3 rpg | 1.2 apg
Cooke’s scorching start to the season was always going to normalize somewhat — hot shooting streaks rarely sustain themselves over a full WNBA calendar — and the last few games have reflected that natural regression. Four points against Dallas, nine points against Phoenix in a narrow two-point loss, four more against Minnesota in a blowout defeat for the struggling Storm.
But here is the more important context: even in this quieter stretch, Cooke is still playing the most productive professional basketball of her career. Seattle at 3-9 is not making things easy on anyone in that locker room, but Cooke is holding up her end of the bargain. Her 8.9-point season average represents real growth as a professional player, and her role has expanded meaningfully compared to previous seasons.
Seattle’s schedule this week: Monday at Las Vegas (10:00 ET, USA) · Wednesday vs Los Angeles (10:00 ET, USA) · Friday vs Golden State (10:00 ET, Ion/League Pass)
The Bottom Line
The story of Gamecocks in the WNBA this week is ultimately a story of two extremes. On one end, you have A’ja Wilson rewriting the record books in Las Vegas, Cardoso putting her name next to Candace Parker’s in Chicago, and Allisha Gray cementing her All-Star credentials in Atlanta. On the other end, you have Feagin and Latson sitting on a Sparks bench in Los Angeles while their developmental windows close one DNP at a time.
Dawn Staley’s program sends elite players to this league. What happens to them once they get there depends entirely on the organizations that receive them. Right now, the contrast between how those organizations are treating their Gamecock talent could not be more stark. 🐔
